WEBVTT 00:00:00.820 --> 00:00:07.520 It's great to be with all of you again and see your wonderful location here. 00:00:07.780 --> 00:00:11.160 I haven't been here since you moved in, but this is beautiful. 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:16.260 We're going to speak tonight about persevering in prayer. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:27.980 But before we do so, I want to tell you a story about when I worked for the world's second largest brass and copper mill. 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:36.120 So I worked in this gigantic factory for one summer, probably more than that, 12 years ago. 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:44.219 And this was a huge, huge location that ran three shifts around the clock and had these enormous machines, 00:00:44.620 --> 00:00:53.460 employed probably about 1,000 people working around the clock to melt down and to process these heavy metals, brass and copper, 00:00:53.460 --> 00:00:59.600 and to all kinds of things, whether it's copper wires or bullets or all kinds of things like that. 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:02.660 It was kind of a crazy place to be. 00:01:03.160 --> 00:01:04.640 So I worked there for this one summer. 00:01:05.260 --> 00:01:11.879 I worked with this man, Tom, on this one particular machine on a task that is not worth recounting. 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:15.280 But the two of us worked together all summer on this machine. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:22.540 We would go out every couple of hours so that Tom and the other guys could take their cigarette break just outside of where we worked. 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:31.240 And we would go out there, and these guys would smoke, and they would talk about mostly women and cars. 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:39.260 And, you know, to be honest, it was a place where someone like me did not feel totally in my element. 00:01:39.260 --> 00:01:45.820 So here are these guys, all of whom are 35 years older than I am. 00:01:45.960 --> 00:01:55.580 They've all been working in the same place for 35 years, inhaling these chemicals and impounding their bodies 00:01:55.580 --> 00:01:58.460 and having their eardrums blasted out. 00:01:58.860 --> 00:02:05.219 The guy I worked this job with, he was preparing to have carpal tunnel syndrome due to the nature of the job, 00:02:05.219 --> 00:02:11.219 which is the same surgery that the three last guys who had this job before him had had before they stopped that job. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:13.099 So this is where I was. 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:19.159 I just finished my freshman year, and I already had more college education than all of them combined. 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:23.620 And yet, day by day, they were educating me on how to do this kind of work. 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:25.139 So this is what we're doing. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:27.719 And all summer long, we go out and we have these conversations. 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:28.780 I'm mostly quiet. 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:35.039 And one day, I don't know how this happened, but we started talking about prayer. 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:38.979 It had nothing to do with any other conversation that happened that summer. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:41.599 But we were talking about it, and I spoke up. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:48.479 And this one guy, whose name I can't recall, he always drove into this area, this outdoor smoke break area. 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:53.960 So he drove his fork truck into the area and just sat on his forklift while the rest of us were down. 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:58.560 And he and I started having this argument about whether prayer does anything. 00:02:58.780 --> 00:03:03.060 And I was arguing that prayer, in fact, accomplishes things. 00:03:03.300 --> 00:03:09.460 And he was arguing that, well, it's a nice thing to do, but it's actually not really, it doesn't do anything in and of itself. 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:11.340 And so this is the weird thing. 00:03:11.379 --> 00:03:13.460 We were kind of going back and forth, wearing our hard hats. 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:17.759 And eventually, he gets down to the end of his cigarette, and we head out. 00:03:18.539 --> 00:03:26.259 And we had spent all summer talking mostly about the appearances of women and Hemi engines. 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.780 And then here was this conversation about prayer. 00:03:30.699 --> 00:03:34.639 And so I'm walking back to this machine that Tom and I operated. 00:03:35.019 --> 00:03:37.120 And Tom had been quiet during this conversation. 00:03:38.299 --> 00:03:41.199 And as we're walking back, Tom said to me, 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:45.119 You know, I agree with everything you said there. 00:03:46.079 --> 00:03:50.619 When I go home at the end of the day, I read my Bible and I try to pray. 00:03:51.899 --> 00:03:55.500 And as soon as he said this, you know, my first response is, 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:56.599 What? 00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:58.899 What are you talking about? 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:04.500 I mean, on the one hand, A, we've barely talked all summer, working on this machine together. 00:04:04.500 --> 00:04:13.740 But B, you've given no indication all summer that you would think the least about prayer in any aspect of your life. 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:15.740 And then here it is. 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:18.759 Suddenly, there's a conversation which you're not taking part, 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.920 but it provokes something in you that really is core. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:27.360 You haven't known how to express in this context. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:35.199 And I know that most of you don't work in the second largest brass and copper mill in the world, 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:44.660 but perhaps you can relate to being part of a culture that doesn't know how to talk about prayer. 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:48.580 Perhaps in your workplace, perhaps among your family, 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:53.580 perhaps even among the particular Christian circle where you feel closest with people, 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:57.359 praying is not something that comes naturally. 00:04:57.539 --> 00:05:01.500 Talking about prayer is not something that happens automatically. 00:05:02.899 --> 00:05:04.579 And so that's what we're going to talk about tonight. 00:05:05.219 --> 00:05:07.379 Persistence in prayer. 00:05:09.919 --> 00:05:11.360 Maybe this isn't your cup of tea. 00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:14.299 Maybe this isn't the thing in which you feel most comfortable in the Christian life. 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:18.919 Maybe when you hear a sermon, you're riled up for the sermon about justice, 00:05:19.039 --> 00:05:21.099 for the sermon about faith and science. 00:05:21.099 --> 00:05:22.620 And we talk about those things here. 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:28.859 But we affirm in this church that the entirety of the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God. 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:32.659 And so we proclaim all of them as things that should form us. 00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:37.579 And so maybe this is the square peg to your round hole. 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:39.879 Maybe this is something that has a hard time fitting. 00:05:41.699 --> 00:05:45.060 But if that's like you, if you are like Tom, 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:52.879 if you have a hard time placing this concept of prayer in your life or in your culture, 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:57.939 then I want to offer this sermon as hopefully a help to you. 00:05:58.159 --> 00:05:59.459 I want to offer as a challenge, 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:03.560 as a challenge to form ourselves to this square peg, 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:05.500 to find out where it fits in our lives, 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:10.420 and then also to invite you into maybe some ways of viewing, 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:14.659 persisting, continuing in prayer in ways you haven't thought about before. 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:16.939 So let's pray for a moment. 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:24.720 Heavenly Father, thank you that we can connect with you through prayer. 00:06:24.820 --> 00:06:26.940 You have ordained, you have allowed, 00:06:27.740 --> 00:06:31.180 you have created us for this means of communing with you, 00:06:31.340 --> 00:06:33.020 of being in your presence, 00:06:33.340 --> 00:06:34.280 of speaking with you, 00:06:34.300 --> 00:06:35.620 of hearing from you. 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:38.399 And this is a great gift to us. 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:41.480 And we pray right now that you will open our spirits, 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:45.139 which have been warped and damaged and dulled, 00:06:45.139 --> 00:06:47.040 to your Holy Spirit. 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:50.620 We pray that you will renew us and enliven us today in prayer. 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:51.600 Amen. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:58.780 I'd like to begin with a quote about prayer from Pope Francis. 00:07:00.259 --> 00:07:01.360 He said this, 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:04.720 The first task in life is this, prayer. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:07.639 But not the prayer of words like a parrot, 00:07:08.400 --> 00:07:10.160 but the prayer of the heart, 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:12.080 gazing on the Lord, 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:14.080 hearing the Lord, 00:07:14.340 --> 00:07:15.420 asking the Lord. 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:18.199 The first task in life is this, 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:19.100 prayer. 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:21.780 It's not simply, 00:07:21.840 --> 00:07:22.500 not simply, 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:23.639 you know, 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:24.460 spouting off, 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:24.680 you know, 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:26.259 word after word after word, 00:07:26.360 --> 00:07:28.080 and getting to like two hours, 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:30.560 and accruing a certain number of brownie points. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:31.920 But this, 00:07:31.960 --> 00:07:32.199 this, 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:33.040 this wonderful, 00:07:33.280 --> 00:07:37.340 this wonderful presence of gazing on the Lord, 00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:38.259 hearing the Lord, 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:39.439 and asking the Lord. 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:42.900 There's a great Presbyterian pastor from about a hundred years ago, 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:44.100 who wrote a book on prayer. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:46.240 And he referred to as this, 00:07:46.340 --> 00:07:47.520 this man was named, 00:07:47.620 --> 00:07:48.699 his name was David McIntyre. 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:49.000 He said, 00:07:49.080 --> 00:07:52.139 Prayer is the lifeblood of the Christian. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:53.860 Prayer is the lifeblood of the Christian. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:57.280 What flows through the Christian life for us, 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:00.199 what brings life to every part of our bodies, 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:02.139 is prayer. 00:08:03.180 --> 00:08:03.819 And just like, 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:05.379 just like the blood in our bodies, 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:07.519 the blood is not actually the nourishment. 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:10.319 It carries the nourishment to our feet, 00:08:10.420 --> 00:08:11.039 and our hands, 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:12.060 and our head. 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:13.639 And in the same way, 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:16.579 prayer carries us to nourishment, 00:08:16.719 --> 00:08:17.519 and to life, 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:19.899 and to renewal in God. 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:21.860 If that's the case, 00:08:21.860 --> 00:08:26.560 why do so many of us feel like giving up on prayer? 00:08:26.660 --> 00:08:29.879 Why do so many of us get tired of prayer? 00:08:30.840 --> 00:08:32.460 I hope that this parable, 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:34.399 this parable that Jesus told, 00:08:34.899 --> 00:08:36.279 can be an encouragement and a help here. 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:39.480 Here's again how the parable went. 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:41.899 Jesus said, 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:43.539 In a certain city there was a judge. 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:45.920 So he's comparing this to a judge, 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:49.560 who neither feared God nor respected man. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:51.100 And there was a widow in that city, 00:08:51.300 --> 00:08:53.180 who kept coming to him and saying, 00:08:53.340 --> 00:08:55.840 Give me justice against my adversary. 00:08:56.060 --> 00:08:57.360 And for a while he refused. 00:08:57.500 --> 00:08:58.840 But afterward he said to himself, 00:08:59.740 --> 00:09:02.399 Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 00:09:02.800 --> 00:09:05.259 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, 00:09:05.259 --> 00:09:06.860 I will give her justice, 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:08.840 so that she will not beat me down 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:10.259 with her continual coming. 00:09:11.319 --> 00:09:12.080 And the Lord said, 00:09:12.220 --> 00:09:14.039 Hear what the unrighteous judge says, 00:09:14.379 --> 00:09:17.100 and will not God give justice to his elect, 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:19.500 who cry out to him day and night? 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:22.379 Will he delay long over them? 00:09:23.819 --> 00:09:24.259 Briefly, 00:09:24.819 --> 00:09:26.759 you may struggle for a bit 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:30.139 as you read this kind of parable. 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:32.399 The first question that may jump in your mind is, 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:35.240 Does God say this about our prayers? 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:37.120 Why are you beating me down 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:38.259 with your continual coming? 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:40.259 It sounds a little awkward. 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:41.980 And this happens because 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:46.539 there's this particular way of persuasion or logic 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:48.360 that this culture used 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:49.500 that is a little bit different 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:50.679 from what our culture uses. 00:09:50.819 --> 00:09:52.580 We use certain assumptions 00:09:52.580 --> 00:09:55.620 to get through persuasion quickly. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:57.240 And in their culture, 00:09:57.659 --> 00:09:58.860 one way that they did that 00:09:58.860 --> 00:10:01.879 was this process by which they said, 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:04.319 How much more so with God? 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:06.400 So they would describe something like God, 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.480 a judge who has power, 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:11.360 and then eventually he does something good. 00:10:11.460 --> 00:10:13.360 How much more so with God, 00:10:13.400 --> 00:10:14.480 who is all-powerful, 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:16.700 will he not do something good? 00:10:17.260 --> 00:10:18.840 We do some similar things 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:20.140 when we speak logically. 00:10:20.300 --> 00:10:21.700 We talk about human rights. 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:22.980 And very quickly, 00:10:23.040 --> 00:10:24.460 we're all on the same page, right? 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:26.040 We know that something, 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:29.100 something has to be true about that, 00:10:29.100 --> 00:10:29.440 you know? 00:10:29.800 --> 00:10:31.460 Something is violated 00:10:31.460 --> 00:10:34.580 when someone's human rights are violated. 00:10:34.779 --> 00:10:37.259 And so we have this kind of quick take on that. 00:10:37.300 --> 00:10:38.700 And I think that's a good thing, 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:39.540 that we're able to agree 00:10:39.540 --> 00:10:41.420 on some of these things very quickly. 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:43.500 We perceive these things quickly 00:10:43.500 --> 00:10:45.580 because of a certain progress 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:46.220 that we've made 00:10:46.220 --> 00:10:47.720 in thinking about these things. 00:10:48.379 --> 00:10:49.480 In this culture, 00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:52.580 they had made a certain progress 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:54.000 and a certain accrual 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:55.460 in thinking about God. 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:57.460 They could just know. 00:10:57.580 --> 00:10:58.440 When we're talking about God, 00:10:58.500 --> 00:10:59.139 we're talking about someone 00:10:59.139 --> 00:11:00.720 who is all-powerful 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:02.000 and all-good. 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:04.160 Maybe you don't share those assumptions, 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:05.500 but that's kind of what's going under 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:06.300 the parable here. 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:07.900 And if you don't share that, 00:11:08.180 --> 00:11:09.400 if you're not sure about that, 00:11:09.420 --> 00:11:10.700 if that's hard for you to accept, 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:12.320 let's just look at this 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:13.340 as a picture for a moment. 00:11:13.460 --> 00:11:14.460 If that were true, 00:11:15.060 --> 00:11:16.700 then this is what it would look like 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:17.460 in this parable. 00:11:17.920 --> 00:11:19.160 So let's just take that for a moment. 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:20.220 If it were true, 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:21.740 here's what it would look like. 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:24.560 Here is this unjust judge, 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.039 someone who has power, 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:28.219 and eventually he does the right thing 00:11:28.219 --> 00:11:30.019 because this person keeps on, 00:11:30.079 --> 00:11:31.500 this widow keeps on coming to him. 00:11:31.819 --> 00:11:32.839 So how much more? 00:11:33.319 --> 00:11:35.219 God himself will be faithful. 00:11:36.299 --> 00:11:38.099 That's the first aspect of the parable. 00:11:38.239 --> 00:11:40.159 God will be faithful. 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:43.059 God will come to the aid 00:11:43.059 --> 00:11:44.919 of our cries for justice. 00:11:45.079 --> 00:11:46.699 The opposite side of that 00:11:46.699 --> 00:11:47.679 is the widow. 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:49.039 And this is the great line 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:50.359 that this story ends on. 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:51.639 Jesus says, 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:52.779 I tell you, 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:54.559 the judge will give justice 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:55.899 to them speedily. 00:11:56.579 --> 00:11:56.839 Nevertheless, 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:59.480 when the Son of Man comes, 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:02.879 will he find faith on earth? 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.139 So there's a double aspect to this 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:07.500 how much more logic. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:09.500 How much more for the judge 00:12:09.500 --> 00:12:10.360 is he like, 00:12:10.839 --> 00:12:12.299 will God give justice? 00:12:12.839 --> 00:12:13.860 And then for the widow, 00:12:14.439 --> 00:12:15.720 this woman who came 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:16.720 with her pleadings, 00:12:17.079 --> 00:12:18.399 how much more 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:21.059 will you continue to come to God 00:12:21.059 --> 00:12:22.059 with your requests? 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:23.599 That's the question 00:12:23.599 --> 00:12:24.579 of this parable. 00:12:25.859 --> 00:12:27.379 The truth about God 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:28.500 is definitely true. 00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:30.179 God is just. 00:12:30.719 --> 00:12:31.859 God is faithful 00:12:31.859 --> 00:12:33.759 to those to whom he has called. 00:12:34.839 --> 00:12:35.879 How about you? 00:12:36.019 --> 00:12:37.239 Will you be faithful 00:12:37.239 --> 00:12:38.219 in your prayer? 00:12:39.199 --> 00:12:42.259 I think that's a difficult thing 00:12:42.259 --> 00:12:43.199 for many of us. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:44.739 Will we be faithful? 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.139 We all have given up in prayer. 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:48.559 We all have done it. 00:12:48.819 --> 00:12:49.899 We all have stopped. 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:52.779 We all have walked away. 00:12:53.199 --> 00:12:55.399 We all have found better things to do. 00:12:57.139 --> 00:12:58.720 And this passage is about 00:12:58.720 --> 00:12:59.279 a woman, 00:12:59.419 --> 00:12:59.939 an individual, 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:01.960 who continues in prayer. 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:03.659 And so I want to encourage you 00:13:03.659 --> 00:13:04.759 as individuals in prayer, 00:13:04.819 --> 00:13:06.240 but I also want to encourage us 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:07.220 as a church 00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:08.059 and as a community 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:08.799 in prayer. 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:10.279 And I think that, 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:11.779 and I think that what can happen 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:13.819 is if we all take up 00:13:13.819 --> 00:13:14.139 together 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:15.860 an attitude of prayer 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:17.600 that will be so much more helpful 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:18.500 so that we're not just 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:19.939 individual islands 00:13:19.939 --> 00:13:21.419 of a tom out there, 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:23.000 like this guy that I worked with, 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:25.039 someone who has no context 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:25.980 for connecting with people 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:26.500 out prayer, 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:28.279 with connecting with people 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:28.799 in prayer. 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:30.559 If we can do this together, 00:13:30.659 --> 00:13:31.799 it will be such an encouragement 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:32.519 to each other. 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:33.840 And so for this reason, 00:13:34.299 --> 00:13:35.559 I want to draw out of this story 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:36.519 a couple of attitudes 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:37.539 about prayer. 00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:39.039 Sort of three strands. 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:39.919 I have three attitudes 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:40.740 about prayer, 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:42.100 which will help us 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:43.519 help us to develop 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:45.820 a culture of persisting, 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:47.800 continuing in prayer. 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:49.600 So here we are. 00:13:50.420 --> 00:13:52.540 The first attitude of prayer 00:13:52.540 --> 00:13:53.360 that this widow, 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:54.540 this woman has, 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:55.120 is this. 00:13:56.180 --> 00:13:57.580 Her first attitude is, 00:13:58.080 --> 00:13:59.480 the heart cries out 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:00.340 for justice. 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:02.659 The heart cries out 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:03.580 for justice. 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:06.700 Prayer begins with your heart, 00:14:06.779 --> 00:14:07.800 from your perspective anyway. 00:14:07.899 --> 00:14:09.300 Prayer begins with your heart. 00:14:09.300 --> 00:14:11.480 When you bring your pain, 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:13.360 when you bring your resentment, 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.420 when you bring that dejection 00:14:16.420 --> 00:14:17.779 from that horrible situation 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:18.639 with your boss, 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:21.200 when you bring that broken hardness 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:22.200 from the relationship 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:23.580 that just ended, 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:25.620 and you direct that God word, 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:27.700 when you direct that to God, 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:30.240 is the beginning of prayer for us. 00:14:31.420 --> 00:14:32.440 And I know that, 00:14:32.779 --> 00:14:33.019 you know, 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:33.920 for many people, 00:14:34.340 --> 00:14:35.300 it's not that hard 00:14:35.300 --> 00:14:36.480 to think too much about that, 00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:37.139 about, you know, 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:38.320 we have pains, 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:40.700 and we complain about them 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:41.240 all the time, 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:42.040 so why not complain 00:14:42.040 --> 00:14:42.879 about them to God? 00:14:43.140 --> 00:14:44.920 What is unique about prayer 00:14:44.920 --> 00:14:45.740 is not simply 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:47.600 complaining to God, 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:49.120 but this. 00:14:49.500 --> 00:14:50.760 The attitude of the heart 00:14:50.760 --> 00:14:52.080 crying out for justice 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:53.740 works out something like this. 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:55.420 It is that, 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:57.120 something is not right. 00:14:57.160 --> 00:14:58.700 We hold on to these two truths. 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:00.020 Something is not right, 00:15:00.560 --> 00:15:01.920 and God desires 00:15:01.920 --> 00:15:02.980 to make it right. 00:15:03.540 --> 00:15:04.540 Something is not right, 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:05.880 and God desires 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:06.779 to make it right, 00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:07.519 and we don't know 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:08.519 how those two things 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:09.240 can go together, 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:10.879 but that's what generates 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:11.840 our prayer. 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:13.320 Something is not right, 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:14.980 and God desires 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:16.779 to make it right. 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:18.299 We have, 00:15:18.439 --> 00:15:19.200 on the one hand, 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:20.960 God's concerns, 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:21.939 and we have, 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:22.799 on the other hand, 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:24.059 our heart. 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:25.700 And in prayer, 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:27.259 what really gets going 00:15:27.259 --> 00:15:27.759 in prayer 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:29.960 is when God's concerns 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:31.220 and our heart 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:32.559 begin to line up. 00:15:33.419 --> 00:15:34.019 And this happens 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.720 in a number of ways. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:35.340 This happens 00:15:35.340 --> 00:15:37.519 by reading Scripture 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:38.420 on a regular basis. 00:15:38.540 --> 00:15:39.320 This comes by 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:40.720 worshiping together. 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:41.480 This comes by 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:43.340 immersing ourselves 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:45.580 in Christian community. 00:15:45.680 --> 00:15:46.759 In all of these things, 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:48.340 we begin to understand 00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:49.600 God's concerns 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:50.800 and to apply them 00:15:50.800 --> 00:15:51.860 to our hearts. 00:15:51.920 --> 00:15:53.379 And as these things line up, 00:15:53.460 --> 00:15:54.300 God's concerns 00:15:54.300 --> 00:15:55.000 in my heart, 00:15:55.060 --> 00:15:55.360 it's like, 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:56.680 it's like two gears 00:15:56.680 --> 00:15:58.100 that begin to mesh 00:15:58.100 --> 00:15:59.019 and like, 00:15:59.139 --> 00:16:00.279 clink, you know? 00:16:00.779 --> 00:16:01.700 Then it starts to move. 00:16:01.779 --> 00:16:03.820 And the gears of prayer 00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:05.040 begin to go. 00:16:05.160 --> 00:16:05.700 And so I want to 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:06.560 encourage you in that. 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:08.440 The heart cries out 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:09.640 for justice. 00:16:10.800 --> 00:16:11.280 Study. 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:12.720 Immerse yourself 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:14.080 in God's concerns. 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:16.560 And your heart 00:16:16.560 --> 00:16:17.700 will line up 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:18.440 with those concerns 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:19.640 in unique ways. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:21.420 And prayer will begin. 00:16:21.560 --> 00:16:22.500 That's the first attitude 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:23.140 of prayer 00:16:23.140 --> 00:16:24.240 that we see 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:25.080 from this widow. 00:16:25.560 --> 00:16:26.680 Her heart cried out 00:16:26.680 --> 00:16:27.280 for justice. 00:16:27.400 --> 00:16:28.440 Something was not right. 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:30.220 She knew that 00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:31.740 there was desire 00:16:31.740 --> 00:16:32.180 of God 00:16:32.180 --> 00:16:32.860 to make it right. 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:35.260 That in and of itself, 00:16:35.420 --> 00:16:36.420 I've got to admit, 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:37.540 it's simply tension though, 00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:37.920 isn't it? 00:16:38.280 --> 00:16:39.180 Something is not right 00:16:39.180 --> 00:16:39.860 and God desires 00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:40.560 to make it right. 00:16:41.300 --> 00:16:42.460 There's another aspect. 00:16:43.260 --> 00:16:43.820 The widow 00:16:43.820 --> 00:16:45.060 expects it 00:16:45.060 --> 00:16:45.800 to be made well 00:16:45.800 --> 00:16:46.240 somehow. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:48.760 So next to that truth, 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:49.340 that tension, 00:16:49.580 --> 00:16:50.640 something not being right, 00:16:50.760 --> 00:16:51.320 God desiring 00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:51.980 to make it right, 00:16:52.520 --> 00:16:53.380 we have a great hope. 00:16:54.180 --> 00:16:55.900 Anything can be made new 00:16:55.899 --> 00:16:57.840 and all things 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.159 will be made new. 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:02.059 Anything can be made new 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:03.819 and all things 00:17:03.819 --> 00:17:05.019 will be made new. 00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:05.519 This is, 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:07.759 this is the great truth 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.079 in a post-Jesus world. 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:11.720 Now that Jesus has come 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:12.900 and died 00:17:12.900 --> 00:17:14.139 and rose 00:17:14.139 --> 00:17:15.579 and ascended to the Father, 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:17.079 right now, 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:19.039 anything can be made new 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:20.700 and eventually, 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:21.819 all things 00:17:21.819 --> 00:17:23.059 will be made new. 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:25.339 This is our great encouragement 00:17:25.339 --> 00:17:25.980 in prayer. 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:27.419 That God hears 00:17:27.419 --> 00:17:28.859 prayer now. 00:17:29.639 --> 00:17:30.519 Some things 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:32.019 are going to be made 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:32.720 well now. 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:33.919 And we don't always know 00:17:33.919 --> 00:17:34.699 what those things 00:17:34.699 --> 00:17:35.639 are going to be, 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:36.619 but some things 00:17:36.619 --> 00:17:37.399 will be made new 00:17:37.399 --> 00:17:38.679 and that depends. 00:17:38.879 --> 00:17:39.039 What, 00:17:39.099 --> 00:17:40.740 what things will be made new 00:17:40.740 --> 00:17:42.519 depends in part 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:43.959 on prayer. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:45.959 Now, 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:47.159 we don't know 00:17:47.159 --> 00:17:47.679 which prayers 00:17:47.679 --> 00:17:48.240 will be answered 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:48.980 all of the time. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:49.459 We don't know 00:17:49.459 --> 00:17:49.839 which prayers 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:50.299 will be answered 00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:51.220 in the short term 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:52.559 all of the time. 00:17:53.199 --> 00:17:53.639 But, 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:54.559 again, 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:55.599 God has created us 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:56.359 in such a way 00:17:56.359 --> 00:17:57.639 that he wants 00:17:57.639 --> 00:17:58.960 to answer our prayers. 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:00.779 It depends, 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:01.460 in part, 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:03.000 on our prayer. 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:05.019 There is a, 00:18:05.019 --> 00:18:06.279 there's a great quote 00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:07.919 from the 19th century 00:18:07.919 --> 00:18:08.619 preacher, 00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:09.960 Charles Spurgeon, 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:11.019 about this, 00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:11.799 about how God 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:12.980 wants to respond 00:18:12.980 --> 00:18:13.819 to our prayers, 00:18:13.879 --> 00:18:14.240 how he wants 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:14.819 to take something 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:16.059 so simple 00:18:16.059 --> 00:18:17.419 as, 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:17.619 as, 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:18.220 as us 00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:19.039 coming down 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:19.639 on our knees 00:18:19.639 --> 00:18:20.319 and whispering 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:21.539 our concerns to him. 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:22.059 this is what 00:18:22.059 --> 00:18:23.139 Charles Spurgeon said. 00:18:24.399 --> 00:18:24.779 He said, 00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:26.359 prayer is the slender 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:27.220 tendon 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:28.619 that moves 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:29.299 the muscle 00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:30.740 of omnipotence. 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:32.980 Prayer is the slender 00:18:32.980 --> 00:18:33.440 tendon 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:34.639 that moves 00:18:34.639 --> 00:18:35.440 the muscle 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.559 of omnipotence. 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:39.460 We bring 00:18:39.460 --> 00:18:40.259 so little 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:41.039 to prayer 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:41.799 and yet 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:42.680 what we ask for 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:43.539 and what God 00:18:43.539 --> 00:18:44.659 wants to give 00:18:44.659 --> 00:18:46.059 is his great power 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:46.579 of working 00:18:46.579 --> 00:18:47.379 as a creator 00:18:47.379 --> 00:18:48.899 and as a preserver 00:18:48.899 --> 00:18:50.399 and as an intervener 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:51.340 in the universe. 00:18:52.420 --> 00:18:53.080 This is what, 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:54.120 this is what God 00:18:54.120 --> 00:18:55.060 wants to give 00:18:55.060 --> 00:18:55.620 to us. 00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:56.720 He wants to move 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:57.640 the muscle 00:18:57.640 --> 00:18:58.800 of omnipotence 00:18:58.800 --> 00:18:59.440 in response 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:00.320 to our prayer. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:01.360 Again, 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:02.680 we don't always know 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:03.380 which prayers 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:04.480 will be answered 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:05.280 now, 00:19:05.320 --> 00:19:05.940 though anything 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:06.540 could be. 00:19:06.620 --> 00:19:07.180 There is nothing 00:19:07.180 --> 00:19:08.720 outside of the realm 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:09.500 of possibility 00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:11.720 in this post-resurrection 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:12.720 world. 00:19:12.940 --> 00:19:13.759 And one day, 00:19:14.100 --> 00:19:14.920 all things 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:15.960 will be made new. 00:19:16.080 --> 00:19:17.040 All those prayers 00:19:17.040 --> 00:19:17.840 for justice 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:19.199 and for righteousness 00:19:19.199 --> 00:19:20.659 and for healing 00:19:20.659 --> 00:19:22.279 will be answered 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:23.779 when Jesus comes 00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:24.519 and restores 00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:25.579 all things. 00:19:25.639 --> 00:19:26.199 And in fact, 00:19:26.299 --> 00:19:26.839 that's a lot 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:27.679 of what this parable 00:19:27.679 --> 00:19:28.220 is about. 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:29.119 You hear these words 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:30.059 again and again 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:31.379 in this parable. 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:32.259 Justice, 00:19:32.699 --> 00:19:33.099 justice, 00:19:33.259 --> 00:19:34.079 crying out for 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:34.980 injustice, 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:37.339 an unjust judge. 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:38.980 And in the New Testament, 00:19:40.059 --> 00:19:41.099 when justice 00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:42.039 is talked about, 00:19:42.159 --> 00:19:43.259 much of the time, 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:44.339 it's referring 00:19:44.339 --> 00:19:45.459 to God bringing 00:19:45.459 --> 00:19:46.579 his justice. 00:19:46.579 --> 00:19:47.799 That's the coming 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:48.559 of the kingdom 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:49.399 of God. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:50.139 God bringing 00:19:50.139 --> 00:19:51.179 his justice, 00:19:51.379 --> 00:19:52.000 his righteousness 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:52.599 to earth 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:53.480 is the coming 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:54.199 of the kingdom. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:56.059 And just in the same way, 00:19:56.539 --> 00:19:57.639 the parable refers 00:19:57.639 --> 00:19:58.199 to the coming 00:19:58.199 --> 00:19:59.119 of the Son of Man. 00:19:59.220 --> 00:19:59.639 Also, 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:00.879 a way of talking 00:20:00.879 --> 00:20:02.240 about God's 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:03.419 kingdom coming. 00:20:04.439 --> 00:20:05.279 We can apply 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:06.439 this teaching 00:20:06.439 --> 00:20:07.059 to our lives 00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:07.659 in many ways, 00:20:07.699 --> 00:20:08.299 many things 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:08.899 about prayer, 00:20:09.379 --> 00:20:10.599 but there's a very 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:11.439 particular way 00:20:11.439 --> 00:20:12.919 in which we cry out 00:20:12.919 --> 00:20:13.799 and we pray 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:15.220 for God's kingdom 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:16.399 to come. 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:17.620 This is really 00:20:17.620 --> 00:20:18.840 the core 00:20:18.840 --> 00:20:19.360 of what God 00:20:19.360 --> 00:20:19.720 wants us 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:20.480 to persist in. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.060 Persist in praying 00:20:22.060 --> 00:20:23.440 for the coming 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:24.300 of God's kingdom. 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:25.080 What is that 00:20:25.080 --> 00:20:26.360 in your life? 00:20:27.259 --> 00:20:27.880 What is that 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:28.740 in your workplace? 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:29.519 What is 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:30.720 the injustice 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:32.640 where you work, 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:33.340 among your 00:20:33.340 --> 00:20:34.120 co-workers? 00:20:34.280 --> 00:20:34.740 What is the 00:20:34.740 --> 00:20:37.100 horror and the pain 00:20:37.100 --> 00:20:38.440 in your family? 00:20:39.300 --> 00:20:40.000 Where is the 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:40.759 brokenness 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:41.759 in your group home? 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.839 anything can be 00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:45.700 made new 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:46.700 in Jesus 00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:47.279 now 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:48.559 and everything 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:50.039 will be made 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:50.579 new. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:51.879 That's the second 00:20:51.879 --> 00:20:52.720 attitude of prayer. 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:54.960 Let's move on 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:55.440 to a third 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:55.799 attitude 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:56.599 that this widow 00:20:56.599 --> 00:20:57.180 has. 00:20:58.599 --> 00:20:59.440 Of course, 00:20:59.700 --> 00:21:00.420 this is the whole 00:21:00.420 --> 00:21:01.099 point of the parable. 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:02.000 Not only 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:02.740 did she feel 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:03.259 injustice, 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:04.339 not only did she 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:05.140 hope for something 00:21:05.140 --> 00:21:05.640 better, 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:07.460 but she persisted 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:08.099 in prayer. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:08.940 Her third attitude 00:21:08.940 --> 00:21:09.340 is this. 00:21:09.380 --> 00:21:09.840 This is a quote 00:21:09.840 --> 00:21:11.519 from basketball, 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:12.200 but I think 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:12.860 you'll get it. 00:21:14.299 --> 00:21:15.180 Quick guys 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:16.000 get tired, 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:17.880 but big guys 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:18.799 don't get small. 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:20.799 Quick guys 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:21.400 get tired, 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:22.200 but big guys 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:22.940 don't get small. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:23.160 Again, 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:23.960 this is something 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:24.480 that people talk 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:25.120 about in basketball 00:21:25.120 --> 00:21:25.740 sometimes. 00:21:26.360 --> 00:21:27.180 You may have 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:27.700 heard that 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:28.840 tall people 00:21:28.840 --> 00:21:29.559 have an advantage 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:30.240 in basketball. 00:21:31.140 --> 00:21:32.000 And even 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:32.860 if you know 00:21:32.860 --> 00:21:33.320 anything about 00:21:33.320 --> 00:21:33.820 basketball, 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:35.480 in recent years 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:36.039 the sport has 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:36.580 moved toward 00:21:36.580 --> 00:21:37.700 outside shooting 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:38.640 and quickness 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:39.880 that sometimes 00:21:39.880 --> 00:21:40.900 de-emphasizes 00:21:40.900 --> 00:21:42.080 size, 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:42.600 but at the same 00:21:42.600 --> 00:21:42.880 time, 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:43.400 the ultimate 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:44.040 player in 00:21:44.040 --> 00:21:44.759 basketball is 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:45.200 someone who 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:46.040 can shoot 00:21:46.040 --> 00:21:46.340 from the 00:21:46.340 --> 00:21:46.660 outside, 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:47.280 who can go 00:21:47.280 --> 00:21:47.640 quickly, 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:48.700 who is also 00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:49.740 6'10", 00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:50.640 7'10", 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:50.960 tall. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.340 It's the big 00:21:52.340 --> 00:21:52.980 guys who have 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:53.500 an advantage 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:54.240 in basketball. 00:21:55.560 --> 00:21:56.380 And in the same 00:21:56.380 --> 00:21:56.860 way, 00:21:57.300 --> 00:21:57.900 in prayer, 00:21:58.340 --> 00:21:59.000 if we have 00:21:59.000 --> 00:21:59.720 a short-term 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:00.180 vision, 00:22:00.580 --> 00:22:01.700 we can tire 00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:02.000 out, 00:22:02.080 --> 00:22:02.860 we will tire 00:22:02.860 --> 00:22:03.259 out. 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:04.640 What we need 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:05.640 is a long-term 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:06.960 vision for 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:07.700 faithfulness, 00:22:07.780 --> 00:22:08.380 for growing 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:09.200 into a big 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:09.840 guy in 00:22:09.840 --> 00:22:10.140 prayer. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:10.480 We've been 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:10.920 in the middle 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:11.440 of this 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:12.640 sermon series 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:13.640 about the 00:22:13.640 --> 00:22:13.960 book of 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:14.320 Daniel, 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:14.680 and in the 00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:15.320 book of 00:22:15.320 --> 00:22:15.780 Daniel, 00:22:16.340 --> 00:22:19.280 these faithful 00:22:19.280 --> 00:22:20.220 believers are 00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:21.260 exiled into a 00:22:21.260 --> 00:22:21.980 foreign land, 00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:22.420 and the whole 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:23.140 book is about 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:24.020 ways in which 00:22:24.020 --> 00:22:24.760 they continue 00:22:24.760 --> 00:22:25.580 to be faithful 00:22:25.580 --> 00:22:26.380 in that 00:22:26.380 --> 00:22:27.820 foreign land. 00:22:28.820 --> 00:22:29.420 In this 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:29.780 parable, 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:30.760 one particular 00:22:30.760 --> 00:22:31.660 way to be 00:22:31.660 --> 00:22:33.300 faithful is to 00:22:33.300 --> 00:22:34.720 continue in 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:35.160 prayer. 00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:36.640 And that can 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:37.140 mean a lot of 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:37.460 things. 00:22:37.560 --> 00:22:37.960 Like I said, 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:38.759 we typically 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:40.380 have a one-week 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:41.259 perspective on 00:22:41.259 --> 00:22:41.940 so many things 00:22:41.940 --> 00:22:42.500 in our life. 00:22:43.020 --> 00:22:43.340 We start 00:22:43.340 --> 00:22:44.000 exercising. 00:22:44.600 --> 00:22:45.440 Within a week, 00:22:45.520 --> 00:22:45.940 we're either 00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:47.140 feeling great or 00:22:47.140 --> 00:22:47.640 ready to move 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:48.160 on to something 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:48.560 else. 00:22:48.780 --> 00:22:49.460 You start a new 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:49.800 diet. 00:22:50.100 --> 00:22:50.600 Within a week 00:22:50.600 --> 00:22:51.060 or two, 00:22:51.560 --> 00:22:52.360 you're either 00:22:52.360 --> 00:22:53.259 loving it or 00:22:53.259 --> 00:22:53.940 you're hating it. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:55.520 I want to 00:22:55.520 --> 00:22:56.140 encourage you to 00:22:56.140 --> 00:22:56.880 think with a 00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:58.240 long-term vision. 00:22:58.759 --> 00:22:59.920 Think with a 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:00.920 five- to ten-year 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:02.220 plan for what it 00:23:02.220 --> 00:23:03.280 would be like to 00:23:03.280 --> 00:23:04.580 be a man of God, 00:23:04.660 --> 00:23:05.800 to be a woman of 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:06.259 God. 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:07.720 What would that 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:08.279 be like, 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:09.480 thinking five to 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:10.419 ten years down 00:23:10.419 --> 00:23:10.980 the road about 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:11.619 what your path 00:23:11.619 --> 00:23:12.740 would be to be a 00:23:12.740 --> 00:23:13.619 faithful prayer, 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:15.039 to be a person of 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:16.359 character, to be 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:16.879 someone who 00:23:16.879 --> 00:23:18.000 manifests the 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:18.899 presence of Jesus 00:23:18.899 --> 00:23:19.799 around them, who 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:21.279 seeks again and 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:23.000 again over years 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:24.480 for God's justice 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:25.319 in their community. 00:23:26.399 --> 00:23:27.099 It would actually 00:23:27.099 --> 00:23:28.039 give you a lot of 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:28.399 freedom. 00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:29.700 We think about 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:31.579 discipline and 00:23:31.579 --> 00:23:32.440 difficulty in 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:33.259 developing a rule 00:23:33.259 --> 00:23:34.099 of life or regular 00:23:34.099 --> 00:23:35.119 spiritual disciplines, 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:36.159 but this gives a 00:23:36.159 --> 00:23:37.099 lot of freedom. 00:23:37.679 --> 00:23:38.319 You don't have to 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:39.159 figure it out next 00:23:39.159 --> 00:23:39.519 week. 00:23:39.719 --> 00:23:40.539 You don't have to 00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:41.799 be a great prayer 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:43.179 two weeks from 00:23:43.179 --> 00:23:43.500 now. 00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:45.240 Think long-term. 00:23:45.439 --> 00:23:46.259 Try new things 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:46.579 out. 00:23:47.539 --> 00:23:48.699 Memorize a 00:23:48.699 --> 00:23:49.139 psalm. 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:50.759 Give yourself two 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:51.819 weeks to memorize a 00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:52.500 psalm and I 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:53.219 guarantee you can 00:23:53.219 --> 00:23:53.619 do it. 00:23:54.159 --> 00:23:54.799 Memorize one 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:55.759 verse every day, 00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:57.000 a psalm that's 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:57.480 ten or twelve 00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:58.419 verses, and pray 00:23:58.419 --> 00:23:59.500 that for the 00:23:59.500 --> 00:23:59.799 church. 00:23:59.959 --> 00:24:00.740 Pray that for 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:01.519 your friends. 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:04.319 On Sundays, take 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:04.940 some time. 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:07.140 Take some time to 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:08.099 think about what 00:24:08.099 --> 00:24:08.579 you're going to 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:09.099 pray about that 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:09.220 week. 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:10.940 Set out, take a 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:11.759 piece of paper, I'm 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:12.240 going to pray for 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:12.960 these five or ten 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:14.099 people, and pray for 00:24:14.099 --> 00:24:14.880 those this week. 00:24:15.900 --> 00:24:16.920 Write the names of 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:17.579 your friends on 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:19.420 index cards, and 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:19.940 pray for those 00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:20.339 throughout the week. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:21.160 Do three or four a 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:21.359 day. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:23.319 Play a worship song 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:23.900 while you're praying. 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:25.140 Be creative. 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:26.339 If you're having 00:24:26.339 --> 00:24:27.140 trouble thinking about 00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:28.579 this, I would love 00:24:28.579 --> 00:24:29.319 to talk with you more 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:29.919 and brainstorm. 00:24:30.179 --> 00:24:30.799 You can be 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:31.679 creative in thinking 00:24:31.679 --> 00:24:32.799 about prayer if you 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:33.939 have a long-term 00:24:33.939 --> 00:24:35.899 vision for persisting 00:24:35.899 --> 00:24:36.599 in prayer. 00:24:36.700 --> 00:24:38.539 It is so freeing, 00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:39.279 let me tell you. 00:24:39.299 --> 00:24:40.159 You do not have to 00:24:40.159 --> 00:24:41.319 figure it out a week 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:41.779 from now. 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:43.899 So that's the 00:24:43.899 --> 00:24:46.579 third attitude 00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:47.519 that I want to 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:48.179 tie together. 00:24:48.299 --> 00:24:49.559 So let's tie these 00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:50.700 things together 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:50.980 here. 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:51.980 These three 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:53.019 attitudes, as they 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:54.980 say, a cord of 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:56.359 three strands is not 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:57.319 easily broken. 00:24:58.139 --> 00:24:58.779 We've said that the 00:24:58.779 --> 00:24:59.759 heart cries out for 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:01.440 justice, that anything 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.379 can be made new, and 00:25:03.379 --> 00:25:04.960 all things will be 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:05.379 made new. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:06.200 This attitude of 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:08.039 hope and this 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:08.660 encouragement to 00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:09.579 persist in prayer. 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:11.079 Quick guys get tired, 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:12.379 but big guys don't get 00:25:12.379 --> 00:25:13.420 small. 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:18.920 Why do we try to 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:19.500 persist in these 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:19.639 things? 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:20.519 Why is this so 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:20.819 important? 00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:22.579 Why is prayer a 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:24.539 lifeblood for us? 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:26.839 Why is prayer so 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:27.279 important? 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:28.879 I think the key is 00:25:28.879 --> 00:25:29.980 toward the end of 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:31.220 this story. 00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:33.339 It says near the 00:25:33.339 --> 00:25:35.940 end that God will 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:37.500 give justice 00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:38.279 speedily. 00:25:38.399 --> 00:25:38.859 He will give 00:25:38.859 --> 00:25:40.160 justice soon. 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:41.099 And that can mean a 00:25:41.099 --> 00:25:41.700 few things. 00:25:41.779 --> 00:25:42.059 Soon. 00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:42.559 That's kind of 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:44.059 nearness when Jesus 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:44.899 talks. 00:25:45.339 --> 00:25:45.819 And the most 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:46.859 immediate thing that 00:25:46.859 --> 00:25:48.339 Jesus did soon after 00:25:48.339 --> 00:25:51.480 this parable was die 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:53.599 on the cross, spend 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:55.000 three days in death, 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:56.000 death, and rise 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:56.720 from the dead. 00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:58.180 The most immediate 00:25:58.180 --> 00:25:59.700 soon and speedy thing 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:00.819 he did was to 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:02.980 voluntarily submit to 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:03.599 injustice. 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:05.700 He was swallowed by 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:07.640 his enemy, death, and 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:10.140 sin, and he snatched 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:12.160 the keys and torpedoed 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:13.640 the mothership of death 00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:14.200 itself. 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:16.059 And death has been 00:26:16.059 --> 00:26:17.680 dying a long death 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:18.920 ever since then. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:20.900 A long, slow, and 00:26:20.900 --> 00:26:22.480 wounded death ever 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:23.200 since then. 00:26:24.360 --> 00:26:24.940 And that is the 00:26:24.940 --> 00:26:25.640 encouragement that we 00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:26.480 have in prayer. 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:28.380 We don't just have 00:26:28.380 --> 00:26:30.420 this desire for 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:31.339 spiritual things 00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:33.400 whereby we sit 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:34.220 cross-legged and 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:35.019 we're really happy 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:36.120 about how long we 00:26:36.120 --> 00:26:36.759 can keep our eyes 00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:37.559 closed and focused 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:39.299 on a small dot on 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:39.940 our eyelids. 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:41.079 No, no. 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:43.120 We believe that 00:26:43.120 --> 00:26:43.880 when we pray we 00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:44.700 have this hope 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:46.819 because Jesus has 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:47.559 torpedoed the 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:48.400 mothership of death 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:48.839 and we are 00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:50.140 participating in 00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:51.839 its long, slow, 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:52.980 obsolescence. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:54.980 At some point 00:26:54.980 --> 00:26:55.539 there will be a 00:26:55.539 --> 00:26:56.519 final convulsion 00:26:56.519 --> 00:26:57.599 of death itself 00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:58.720 and all things 00:26:58.720 --> 00:26:59.500 will be made 00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:00.179 new. 00:27:01.339 --> 00:27:02.439 All things will 00:27:02.439 --> 00:27:03.039 be made new. 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:04.179 And this is what 00:27:04.179 --> 00:27:05.299 gives us hope 00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:06.000 for all of these 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:06.359 things. 00:27:06.439 --> 00:27:07.059 When our hearts 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:08.299 cry out for 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:10.000 injustice, we 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:10.779 remember this. 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:12.779 We believe that 00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:13.639 anything can be 00:27:13.639 --> 00:27:14.379 made new because 00:27:14.379 --> 00:27:15.339 we can participate 00:27:15.339 --> 00:27:17.000 in that death of 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:17.439 death, that 00:27:17.439 --> 00:27:18.339 renewal of all 00:27:18.339 --> 00:27:18.799 things. 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:21.139 And we have 00:27:21.139 --> 00:27:21.859 faith that all 00:27:21.859 --> 00:27:22.839 things will be 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:23.440 made new. 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:24.019 There is a 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:25.539 mortal wound to 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:26.339 the enemies of 00:27:26.339 --> 00:27:28.299 God, sin, and 00:27:28.299 --> 00:27:29.019 death itself. 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:30.339 And so we 00:27:30.339 --> 00:27:31.399 persist in prayer. 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:33.059 This is my 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:33.799 conclusion here, 00:27:33.859 --> 00:27:34.359 but I want to 00:27:34.359 --> 00:27:35.980 end with a very 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:36.659 specific 00:27:36.659 --> 00:27:37.859 encouragement, or 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:38.539 a very specific 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:39.359 request, I should 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:40.119 say, as well. 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:42.099 We said that 00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:44.419 this parable in 00:27:44.419 --> 00:27:45.339 particular talks 00:27:45.339 --> 00:27:47.480 about God's 00:27:47.480 --> 00:27:48.299 kingdom coming. 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:49.579 God's justice 00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:50.240 and the son of 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:50.920 man coming is 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:52.059 about God's 00:27:52.059 --> 00:27:53.240 kingdom coming. 00:27:53.339 --> 00:27:53.880 And the most 00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:55.220 particular, the 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:56.019 most specific, the 00:27:56.019 --> 00:27:56.620 most immediate 00:27:56.620 --> 00:27:57.900 way that we can 00:27:57.900 --> 00:27:58.839 pray for God's 00:27:58.839 --> 00:28:00.240 kingdom to come is 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:01.819 to pray for this 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:03.099 church, to pray for 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:03.940 Church of the 00:28:03.940 --> 00:28:04.279 Advent. 00:28:05.180 --> 00:28:05.860 Many churches 00:28:05.860 --> 00:28:07.839 have teams of 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.200 prayers who pray 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:10.380 regularly for their 00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:11.680 pastors, to pray 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:12.620 regularly for what's 00:28:12.620 --> 00:28:13.240 going on in the 00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:13.640 church, the 00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:14.519 ministries of the 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:15.500 church, to support 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:16.240 those things in 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:17.460 prayer, to 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:18.579 be the slender 00:28:18.579 --> 00:28:19.680 tendon that 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:20.819 moves the muscle 00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:22.779 of omnipotence in 00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:23.559 their church. 00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:24.700 And I want to 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:25.799 invite you to be 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:26.500 part of that. 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:27.660 We're going to 00:28:27.660 --> 00:28:28.340 create an email 00:28:28.340 --> 00:28:29.299 list for people who 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:29.860 want to pray 00:28:29.860 --> 00:28:31.079 regularly for 00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:31.500 Church of the 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:32.660 Advent, emails that 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:33.480 will go out to 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:35.259 encourage you, to 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:35.980 give you things to 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:36.500 pray for. 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:37.680 So if you're 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:39.100 interested, please 00:28:39.100 --> 00:28:39.819 email me, 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:42.680 bwandel, B-W-A-N-D-E-L 00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:44.640 at adventDC.org. 00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:45.519 Find me after the 00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:46.559 service, and we'll 00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:47.240 get you on that 00:28:47.240 --> 00:28:47.659 list. 00:28:48.659 --> 00:28:49.099 I want to 00:28:49.099 --> 00:28:49.740 encourage you, 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:51.359 because this is 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:52.720 something that God 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:54.200 has given to us. 00:28:54.759 --> 00:28:55.819 This is something 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:57.159 that the 00:28:57.159 --> 00:28:58.159 scriptures challenge 00:28:58.159 --> 00:28:59.159 us toward, but 00:28:59.159 --> 00:29:00.159 this is also the 00:29:00.159 --> 00:29:01.319 square peg around 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:02.440 which we are 00:29:02.440 --> 00:29:02.839 formed. 00:29:02.919 --> 00:29:04.419 As we are formed 00:29:04.419 --> 00:29:05.200 through prayer, it 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:06.079 will become easier 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:08.059 for all of us, as 00:29:08.059 --> 00:29:08.799 we develop this 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:10.359 culture of prayer, 00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:11.899 to engage in 00:29:11.899 --> 00:29:12.819 God's mission. 00:29:12.819 --> 00:29:12.919 salvation. 00:29:14.519 --> 00:29:15.599 So let's pray 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:15.980 together. 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:19.799 Heavenly Father, we 00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:21.279 thank you so much 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:22.579 that we get to be 00:29:22.579 --> 00:29:24.319 part of your 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:24.700 kingdom. 00:29:24.879 --> 00:29:25.879 Thank you so much 00:29:25.879 --> 00:29:27.839 that we get to be 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:29.779 part of your great 00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:32.579 work of destroying 00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:34.839 death itself, of 00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:36.539 bringing newness and 00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:37.659 life and redemption 00:29:37.659 --> 00:29:38.759 to the world around 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:38.980 us. 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:39.720 And we pray that you 00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:41.299 will make us faithful 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:42.720 in prayer. 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:44.119 Just like you, 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:44.779 Jesus, we're 00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:46.000 faithful unto death, 00:29:46.059 --> 00:29:46.720 we pray that you 00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:47.680 will make us faithful 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:48.700 through our whole 00:29:48.700 --> 00:29:49.940 lives by continuing 00:29:49.940 --> 00:29:51.220 in prayer. 00:29:51.960 --> 00:29:52.659 It's in your holy 00:29:52.659 --> 00:29:53.240 name we pray. 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:53.940 Amen.